Anyone experienced Amitriptyline working for a while but then not?. Im on 20mg is anyone on a higher dose?. Does it work?. Any advice?.

Amitriptyline worked for a while but now not so much. I can take Immigran with it but have to catch it at the first sign which is difficult.

[shello28]

Hi there,

Just thought i would give you my take on Amitriptyline. I started taking these about 18 months ago - initially 10mg a day at bed time. After about 2-3 weeks, my chronic migraine was a little more manageable and for 4 weeks or so was much better. Gradually they came back and as they did i was advised to increase by 10mg. Eventually i was taking 40 mg at night and migraine came back just as they were before ( 5 days out of 7 ). side effects of the drug awful - constant fog feeling and a real struggle to wake up.Referred to Neurologist and after trying about 8 different prophalaxis, i have had the nerve block injections and currently waiting for more. They work but only for about 6-12 weeks. I currently take nortriptyline - 20mg at night along with zolmitriptan at onset and 60mg of codeine with paracetamol for pain.Told i meet criteria for botox too so may try this along with GONI. So, in response to your question - yes my migraine did come back after a while on amitriptylin but they may be different for you! Good luck.

[Hidden]

Thanks Shello i have to go back to doctor this week. I had the worst almighty migraine last week, they are coming later in the day and if i do not take my imigran on time im up all night being sick. Thank you.

[jpkm]

Hi I found amitriptyline not to work for my migraines at all and im on a higher dose, I take it for anxiety. Like you I take Imigran, I get migranes everyday, they used to leave me bed bound, I still take Imigran, but my doctor has put me on Topmax-Topiramate 25mg, 2 in the morning and 1 at night. Wow is all I can say, from being in bed and sick nearly every day. I now function yes I still take the imigran, but im less bothered by the migraine, just wish I had started years ago. Good luck x

[KaliC10]

Jpk is that the epilepsy med as im sure thats what doc is putting me on next week!

I was on 20mg amitriplyine aswel but neurologist said dose was too small.

[mimzlianne in reply to KaliC10]

Hi Kali!

Topiramate is an anti-epilepsy med - I have just yesterday been taken off 50mg twice a day and have been put on another anti-epilepsy med as was the neurologists recommendation if Topiramate didn't work.

It reduced the frequency of my attacks slightly but not that much. I do have a friend who it works for though. She has said that it took her up to 3 months for the effects to work (until yesterday I was on these for 5 months hoping they would work haha).

Hope this helps!

[mazzzy]

Hi, Amitryptyline worked for me for about 8 or 9 months I had no migraines at all during this time. However they gradually started to come back and am now having at least one or two a month. Increasing the dose had no effect, in fact the higher the dose the more migraines I suffered.

Hope you find something to help soon.

[Hidden]

Hi everyone, went back to my doctor yesterday and i have to have my bloods taken again to see if anything shows up on there but yes she said thats often the case when meds stop working as effectively after a while. When i get bloods back i have to go see her again and she said we will up the dose of Amitriptyline to 30mg and see how that goes. I must say when i hear others saying they get migraines 5 out of seven days or every day i cannot imagine how you cope. When i get mine if i dont take Imigran in time i know im in for about eight or more hours throwing up and it really makes me depressed and frightenened. Sometimes i get slurry speech or keep going to the toilet for a while before i start to be sick and the vomiting is so awful i just cannot stop. Every half hour and then actually vomiting about 5 times each time. I can only take sips of water and then that just comes up until im empty and i just dry retch. I have to sit up in my bed until it stops before i can sleep nearly nodding off as im trying to stay awake. I have had quite a few times off work and that worries me and people i work with giveing me the impression they dont believe its that bad!!. I never knew Migraine could be like this. Im entering the menopause so we think that is what kicked it off plus i had a very stressful time around the time i started getting these heads!!. Anyone else been asked about specific events or stress that might have started their MIGRAINES?.

[mazzzy]

Hi, During the menopause I suffered the worst migraines of my life, daily headaches and sickness and auras that would come and go all day long. I spent my 40's and part of my 50's a constantly feeling ill. I am 60 now and I had hoped the migraines would disappear after the menopause, but no, I still get them, however, they have become less frequent, I still get the auras as bad as before but the headaches are much less severe now and the sickness is much better too. As for stress, yes that is a big trigger for causing my migraines, I think its probably a combination of things. Everyone is different but the main causes I have found are weather changes, certain foods and yes, most of all, stress! Over the years one thing I have learnt is that migraine never seems stay the same, just when you think you have beaten it, it rears its ugly head in a different way. Fingers crossed that the increased dose of Amitriptylene does the trick for you.

[Hidden in reply to mazzzy]

hi Mazzy yes it sounds like im having same as you. They go away and i think their stopping and they come back just like a horrible beast playing tricks on me!!. This is just what i did not want. I feel ill a lot of the time lately now and have always been very healthy. Has anyone or you mazzzy had problems working , or problems taking time off!!. I hate things affecting work as im alone and struggle anyway so its worse than ever. I know im not the only one and feel for everyone who suffers Migraines.

[lewmax in reply to mazzzy]

Your Dr. needs to be more aggressive with meds. I take 50 mg amitriptyline Also topomax 50 mg, also Mayo Clinic Dr. Just added Memetine 5 mg. I no longer have stabbing headaches in the morning. I'm hoping to drop the Topamax soon. I don't know where you live but if you could get to the Mayo Clinic it would be wonderful !

[KaliC10]

Im hopefully starting that next week. Iv exhausted most things!think my painkillers may have been making the problem worse. Im not sure whats worse though migraines or my other pain!!

[KaliC10]

Ps did you have any side effects on it?im quite worried about the back and joint pain as im trying not to take painkillers at moment and i have that pain anyway!plus i read it can cause suicide x

[Hidden in reply to KaliC10]

i have had a little joint pain but i get that cos of the perimenopause anyway. It can vary, just try them you can always take something else if they do not suit. Your doctor will sort it out,. Good Luck.

[angelhope71]

Hi there, I have had migraine over 30 years and tried many things. . last October my g.p tried me on Amitriptyline 25mg at night and it was fantastic,an almost total relief. My bad heads started returning 3 was ago on a daily basis so last week I started on 35mg and once again they gone gone totally. I know that it's a worry about what will happen in the long run but as a mum of 4 and a busy life I need to be able to function Now! . .my migraines generally occur through stress,tension and anxiety and Amitriptyline has been a life saver! . . I hope this can help you,kind regards x

[Clumsyclot in reply to angelhope71]

Hi, I have been on Amitriptyline for about 7 years now, up and down in doses from 10mg to 75mg, I still could'nt say if they help or not to be honest, there are so many trigger factors to these Migraines that how do you ever know if something you have tried has helped or have they just gone of there own accord. I have just had my longest remission to date, almost 10 mths with out a migraine, after vitamin and healthy eating and exercise reguimes but then POW! for two and a half weeks I've had two days of relief. Really disappionted! I thought I had cracked it. so fed up, nice to know you are not alone though. Only just joined this network, it's good to read other peoples experiances, at times my symtoms have been so bad that I've thought it is more MS or Parkinsons disease, My longest stay in hospital was 2 and a half weeks, after thinking I'd suffered a stroke but then just miraculously just got better, aparantly a TIA then from parallasis, blindness in one eye, numbness in arm and leg on right side, confussion, speech difficulties, and even breathing difficulties, to just not being able to write or even hold a pen effectively, My clumsiness has even been put down to this diagnosis, plus many more, it's a confusing horrible thing, I was diagnosed with Basilar Migraines, by a specalist years ago, but I think how you live with it is up to you, and nothing I was given to try worked long time, propanolol, pzitifen, amitrip, melts etc. please excuse my spellings, I am terrible.

[Hidden in reply to Clumsyclot]

It is good to know your not alone as its frightened the hell out of me since i started getting Migraines. I have suffered from depression and its got me down all over again worrying about when they will come. I cannot plan anything, its horrible. I feel different since they started i do not know why. I know my doctor has said its probably the perimenopause and i have not been sent for any head scans or anything. Last week she said she could tell i was worrying that it could be something else. If she does not send me for a head scan though how do i know its not some neurological disorder or something?. Perhaps they know from the severity of your symptoms whether they should send you to hospital outpatients or a clinic or something?. My mum suffered from Parkinsons , someone mentioned Parkinsons above. I just worry. Its a viscious circle.

[Susann]

Hello, I haven't been hospitalized with migraine like you but have definitely been clumsy and feel, when I have migraine, that the muscles won't work properly one side in the arm and leg. On one occasion my arm felt completely numb and I couldn't pick it up. I afterwards put this down to the fact that I had my neck stooped over writing a letter and I felt very migrainy and vague.

I have been on amitryptyline at night for quite a few years, at the moment 25 mg at night. I feel this does help me if I take it a couple of hours before sleep. Also, I am experimenting more with 10 mg amitryptyline during the day at the very onset of a migraine. Admittedly, most of my frequent migraines can't be stopped, but, for instance if the air pressure is going down before it rains, it may be possible to help.

[Clumsyclot in reply to Susann]

Hi, Yes, it is amazing the amount of contrilbuting factors to Migraines, weather can affect me also, there's so much that can sometimes affect you but not always, so I find it soooo bloody frustrating to pin anything down as triggers, etc because nothing ever stays the same lol, nvd, we battle on, it's so good to have other similar people to talk to, it reminds you you're not alone.

[Charlotte_NMC Partner National Migraine Centre]

The starting dose that we recommend at NMC is usually 10mg taken 2 hours before bedtime, increased by 10mg every 2 weeks to a maximum dose of 75mg. Many people find 50mg is a sufficient maximum dose. Have you been to see one of our doctors for advice?

[KaliC10]

Does anybody take tompirate and amitripyline, sorry for bad spelling

[Hidden]

Yes, I am taking 200mg twice a day of Topiramate, which is the maximum dose for migraines, and I'm also taking 20mg Amitriptyline in the early evening. That's not actually for migraines though. I carried on taking 10mg because although it didn't help the migraines it does help me sleep, and now my GP has suggested I increase it to see if helps with some other pain I have.

[weddinglady]

Just found this forum I have been experiencing migraines for the past 40 years although they have been under good control with only 25 mg daily of amitriptyline. Last year I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer and underwent chemo, surgery and radiation which all ended January 9th of this year. I was completely free of migraines throughout my treatments but since late January I have headaches nearly every day. I can tell many of them are muscular so my doctor increased my ami to 50 mg three weeks ago but there is no change. My pharmacist says if it isn't working by now, it won't. Tomorrow I see my oncologist and he will likely request a CT scan which is what my family physician was going to do after my next appointment on the 17th.

I am wondering if it is too soon to know despite the fact I have been on 25 mg for the past 20 years. I have gained at least 7 pounds in 3 weeks which was my fear of increasing it but there is no relief in sight. I take Migranal when it is really bad but try to keep it to twice a week since I know it can be a cause of medication-induced headaches.

I am feeling a bit under pressure as my personal disability insurance (I am self-employed) wants me back to work next week and say if my headaches continue, I will have to open a new file and wait three months (without funds) as it is not connected to my original diagnosis of cancer. I do general transcription and watching a screen these days is just too painful at times.

Anyone experience a similar situation where amitryptelene is not working? My radiologist says radiation wouldn't do this and my last chemo was last September.

[Queenbee177]

Hi im on 150mg it does nothing